California Dual-Wage Threshold Calculator: Will Your Crew Change Class Codes?

California's dual-wage construction classifications split a trade into two class codes by the employee's regular hourly wage. For policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026, the wage threshold rises for all sixteen of them, by $2 to $5 an hour depending on the trade. An employee who sat in the cheaper, higher-wage code last year can now land in the higher-rated code with no change in the work they do.

The new thresholds take effect at the first policy incepting on or after that date, which for most accounts means the next renewal. Use the calculator below to check a specific employee before that renewal is quoted or audited.

How to read the result

Pick the trade and enter the employee's regular hourly wage. The calculator gives one of three answers. If the wage clears the new threshold, payroll stays in the higher-wage, lower-rated code. If it sits below both the old and new thresholds, nothing changes, because that payroll was already in the lower-wage code. The case that matters is the one in between: a wage that cleared the old threshold but falls short of the new one. That payroll moves to the higher-rated code, and the calculator opens a second panel to estimate what the move costs.

Raise the wage, or let the payroll reclassify?

For a wage in that gap, the employer has a choice. They can raise the employee to the new threshold and keep the payroll in the lower-rated code, or leave the wage alone and pay the higher rate. The calculator compares the two: the raise, with about 20% added for payroll taxes and benefits, against the reclassification, which is the payroll times the rate difference between the two codes times the experience mod.

The mod is the part most people miss. It multiplies the reclassification cost but not the wage cost, so the higher the mod, the more often the raise wins. Take a roofing crew of six at $32.50 an hour and 2,000 hours each: raising them to $33.00 costs about $6,000 in wages, while letting the payroll reclassify costs roughly $34,000 at a 1.00 mod. Our break-even guide by trade works out where that line falls for each of the sixteen trades.

Why the pre-filled rate difference is a floor

When you pick a trade, the rate difference fills in from the WCIRB's advisory pure premium rates effective September 1, 2026. For roofing that is $20.827 per $100 of payroll for 5552 against $12.112 for 5553, a spread of $8.72. Pure premium rates leave out carrier expense loading and California's statutory assessments, so the rates on an actual policy are higher and the real difference is wider. When you have the filed rates from a quote, put that difference in instead.

Regular hourly wage is narrower than the offer letter

The WCIRB's reporting plan defines regular hourly wage narrowly. Overtime premium, bonuses and per diem generally don't count toward it. A crew the owner is certain sits above the threshold can land below it once the wage is measured the plan's way, which is why this tends to surface at audit rather than at quote. If an employee is within a dollar of the line, check the payroll records before relying on the result.

All sixteen California dual-wage trades

The calculator covers every dual-wage pair in the California construction classifications, including the sub-classifications that share a pair, such as grading and land leveling under 6218/6220. For the codes, thresholds and rate gaps side by side, see the California class code lookup. For what changed on September 1 and by how much, see the 2026 dual-wage threshold tracker.

Frequently asked questions

When do the new California dual-wage thresholds take effect?

They apply to policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026. A policy that incepted before that date keeps the old thresholds until it renews, so for most accounts the change arrives at the next renewal.

Does overtime count toward the California dual-wage threshold?

Generally no. The WCIRB's reporting plan defines regular hourly wage narrowly, and overtime premium, bonuses and per diem generally don't count toward it. Test the employee's base hourly rate against the threshold.

Is a raise cheaper than letting payroll move to the higher-rated code?

It depends on the rate spread between the two codes, how far the wage sits below the new threshold, and the experience mod. The mod multiplies the reclassification cost but not the wage cost, so the higher the mod, the more often the raise wins. Roofing and carpentry have wide spreads; electrical's is narrow.

Crew moved into the higher-rated code?

A crew that crosses the line at renewal or audit can push a contractor's premium up without a single claim behind it, and a higher premium stacked on a high mod is how accounts end up declined. CPR Business Solutions is a wholesale workers' comp MGA placing high-mod and hard-to-place California construction accounts for retail agents. Send the submission to proposals@cprbrokers.com or call 714-928-3858.